The Gears of Time Move Forward
by Nintendo Queen
Summary: A pokemon and a human trapped in a world of unrelenting darkness and suffering find each other and decide to work to change the past and revive the paralyzed world. Based on the game Pokemon; Explorers of Time. OCxGrovyle pairing technically mudkipxgrovyle
1. The Meeting

**So I've been really hooked on my Pokemon Explorers of Time game again and, all I can say, is I really hate the fact that you get stuck with your partner, who is annoyingly whiney, and Grovyle…well, if you played the game, you know what happens.**

**So, I have had this idea for a while because the game inspired my actual Pokemon OC. This takes place in the future before Grovyle and his human partner go back in time to get the time gears. I hope you guys enjoy! (PS: I realize the pairing is initially a pokemon and a human, but since the human becomes a pokemon, I figured it shouldn't be too weird)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the premise of "Explorers of Time." I merely own the specifications of my OC and the particular plot of this fanfic.**

* * *

_**The Gears of Time Move Forward**_

**Chapter One: The Meeting**

_Every day is the same…_

_The sky is a cloudy shroud of grey nothingness, forever casting the hard, stone ground in foggy darkness. The rocks hang in the air, pleading to finally fall to the ground but never able to. The flowing water is a frozen wave, almost like ice but not cold or glittering._

_There is no color. There is no light._

_Everything hangs lifeless in the abyss that was once the world…our world._

* * *

"GET BACK HERE!"

_Rustle. Rustle._

_ Thump._

_ Crack._

_ Rustle. Rustle._

"You fools, do not let him escape!"

"Yes, sir!"

He could hear the shuffling of their footsteps and quickened his pace. They continued to chase him through the forest and he skidded to a stop at the edge of a cliff and peered over the edge. It was a long fall down…but they were getting closer.

Summoning his courage, he shut his eyes and leapt over the edge of the cliff. He opened his eyes and could see the dark purple Sableye freeze at the edge of the cliff and they watched him fall down.

Smirking, he held out his arm and used his leaf blade move to slow his fall, digging the attack into the face of the cliff. Unfortunately, a large stone jutted out and disrupted his attack, causing him to tumble down and hit the ground fairly hard. The Sableye would not have the nerve to leap after him and it would take a good few hours to scale down to this level.

He winced as his brain seemed to register the ache of his entire body and he shakily tried to stand up. Considering the damage…perhaps that had not been the best of ideas. He could imagine that wretched monster, Dusknoir, commanding those wicked ghosts to give chase. The mountain would take some time to climb down, but he would not be able to hide if he did not get moving.

Unfortunately, his legs did not seem willing to agree with his request to move and he lay there painfully, gripping at the hard ground uselessly.

"I can't…let them catch me…" He clawed at the ground, forcing himself to move, even if it was only by a few inches. There were trees up ahead; he might be able to lose them in the forest.

Groaning, he forced himself to stand and tested his legs carefully before walking away from the mountain. Once he felt confident, he began to run towards the trees, despite the pain in his legs.

"_Almost there!" _He stumbled into the forest and continued to run, entering the first chamber of a mystery dungeon and panting.

The area was empty; no pokemon or items anywhere, so he needed to hurry up and find the way to the next chamber. He continued moving through the dungeon, his body growing weaker as he fought off wild pokemon that came into his path.

At last, he saw an end and stumbled out of the forest, panting hard with sweat beading along his green flesh. Surely the Sableye were far enough for him to rest a bit…

His HP was surely low and he had no items to heal himself.

"Whee-hee-hee…" His eyes widened as the sound snapped him from his thoughts and he looked behind him.

How could they have caught up to him so quickly?

"I have to…get out of here…" He crawled away from his spot and looked around for a good hiding spot as the sounds of the Sableye grew louder. Eventually, he spotted a cave and managed to crawl towards it, slumping up against the wall with a pained gasp.

A movement in the darkness immediately captured his attention and he moved his head, narrowly dodging a rock that shot hard enough to chip the stone wall.

"Who are you? Why have you come here?" a female voice asked from the shadows.

"Please, I mean you no harm."

"You must be working for _**him**_. I won't let you lead him here!" He dove forward, dodging another barrage of rocks.

"No, no, you don't understand, I am not trying to lead anyone here. I'm trying to run from-" He moved away from a series of rocks shooting at him and rolled forward to the mouth of the cave. "Please, listen to me!" he pleaded.

"Whee-hee-hee! There he is!" He gasped and turned his head to see the six Sableye surrounding him at the mouth of the cave. He stood up weakly but knew he was in no condition to fend off six pokemon.

"You're coming with us, Grovyle!"

"Master Dusknoir wishes to speak with you…"

"You'll never take me back! I'll die before telling you fools anything!" Grovyle growled, using his leaf blade on the closest Sableye who dodged easily.

"Unfortunately for you, we were told to bring you back alive." A Sableye used fury swipes and Grovyle grunted as he hit the ground, his vision growing dark as the monsters approached him.

"So do yourself a favor and stop struggling now while you still can…" Grovyle's eyes closed and the Sableye cackles, pulling out some rope.

"Come on, let's hurry up and bring him back before he can regain his senses."

"Yes, let's-OOF!" One of the Sableye fell over and the others looked around frantically.

"Who's there? Who dares attack us?"

"You leave that pokemon alone!" They looked into the cave and heard footsteps as a figure moved in the shadows. The pokemon growled and bared their claws.

"How dare you defy us!"

"We will teach you a lesson!" They all leapt into the cave and saw a shiny, blue sphere that began to glow.

"Oh no, that's-!" The six pokemon froze and grit their teeth.

"A foe-hold orb!" The figure walked out of the shadows and wore a black, hooded cloak that covered their face entirely and a satchel draped over their shoulder with a slingshot stuffed inside.

"I'll be taking this with me," she said, stooping to pick up Grovyle and the Sableye hissed but were unable to move their bodies. She walked away, carrying Grovyle on her back with a heavy sigh. "Looks like I'll need a new home again…"

* * *

"Sableye!" Grovyle sat up, gasping a bit and looked around. He expected to find himself in a jail cell or tied up to a rafter somewhere, but was surprised to find himself lying on a bed of straw with his injuries tended and a small fire burning nearby.

"Oh? You're finally awake?" He looked to the side and saw someone standing nearby, carrying a basket with apples and berries. The first thing that he noticed was the fact that it wasn't a pokemon…it was a human.

She was a girl with large, silver eyes and porcelain skin, wearing a black, turtleneck with cut-off sleeves that were trimmed with red and had a design that looked like red arrow heads striped on her entire shirt. Her pants were plain and dark with black and red shoes, but her hair was probably the most interesting thing about her.

It was long and blue, kept in the loose braid with wavy locks that were orange in front of her ears.

He blinked and she looked at him, quirking a brow slightly and he realized she wanted him to address her.

"How did…I get away from the Sableye?"

"I used a foe-hold orb and carried you away from them. Thanks to you, I had to leave behind my home again," she said, setting down the basket and sitting on a second bed of straw, biting into an apple.

"I'm…sorry…" She shrugged.

"It is what it is." She chewed the apple and looked over at him before gesturing to the basket. "You're probably hungry. Go ahead and eat as much as you like." Grovyle hesitated before taking an apple and some berries and eating them slowly.

They sat there in silence for a while, eating the fruit, until Grovyle finally cleared his throat a bit.

"Thank you for helping me."

"Sure thing. Why were those Sableye after you in the first place?" Grovyle frowned a bit and stared at the wall in front of him.

"They caught me looking up information about the collapse of Temporal Tower and the time gears." She stared at him in mild disbelief and shook her head.

"You'd do better not looking into that kind of stuff. You're really lucky you managed to get away, otherwise Primal Dialga would have had you eliminated."

"I'm well aware…" Grovyle muttered bitterly.

"Why are you even looking into that kind of stuff? What's happened is in the past, it's far too late to fix it."

"The answer lies in time…and therefore it is never too late."

"Sounds like a sense of false optimism to me," she said, eating a cheri berry. "Dialga is the pokemon of time, and he is beyond reason. What makes you believe you can reverse the damaging effects of the past?"

"Dialga is not the only pokemon associated with time." She paused and looked at him.

"Do you know another pokemon like that?" she asked.

"…perhaps."

"Hey, I saved you from the Sableye; I would think you would know I'm someone you can trust."

"I'll answer your questions if you will answer mine."

"Alright, fine."

"What's your name?" he asked. She threw her apple core into the fire, her eyes darting to the orange flames.

"I'm Kaya. And your name is Grovyle, right?" He nodded.

"Yes."

"What's your other question?"

"…how are you still alive? I mean, I thought…"

"You thought humans no longer lived in this part of the world?" she finished, giving him a sideways glance and Grovyle nodded slowly. "Well, you're almost right. I'm the last human in this part of the world…that I know of. Primal Dialga eliminated my family when I was a little girl when they tried to uncover the truth about Temporal Tower and the Time Gears. I barely escaped."

"How did you escape?"

"It was a pokemon who saved me…it helped me hide in the mountains until Dialga gave up his search for me in favor of pursuing others who threatened his existence."

"I see…"

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Do you have any friends or family?"

"…no. I never bothered with it."

"I see." They were silent again except for the occasional crackling of the fire.

"Any more questions?" Kaya asked, tossing a stick into the fire.

"Not right now."

"So…does this pokemon you know have the ability to go back in time and eliminate this future?"

"…well…she has the power to go back in time, but she alone cannot hope to reverse the collapse of Temporal Tower."

"And you believe you can accomplish such a task alone?"

"I have to try." Kaya observed Grovyle for a moment and sighed a bit.

"Well…alright, I'll let you in on a secret. When I was first running away from Dialga, I came across a forest that was filled with fog. And in the forest I found a statue of Grodon almost completely buried. When I touched the statue, I received a vision…"

"A vision?"

"A vision of a bright red stone called the Drought Gem. And placing it in the heart of the statue lifted the fog of the forest and revealed a large plateau that was home to a great lake. In the middle of that lake, was a time gear."

"Wait, where was this forest?" Grovyle asked, sitting up.

"Don't upset your injuries," Kaya warned.

"Where was this forest?" Grovyle asked again.

"Beyond the mountain ranges in the east. It was a long journey, at least two days."

"I don't care! This could be a clue I need!"

"Grovyle, that's only the possible location of one time gear. You need five gears." Grovyle shook his head.

"I refuse to give up hope that I can change this future to a brighter one! Even if I only know where one time gear is, I will find my way to all of them and stop Temporal Tower from collapsing." Kaya tilted her head.

"You really are a hopeless optimistic, aren't you?" she asked. Grovyle forced himself to stand and looked at her.

"Thank you for your help, but I must be going now. Take care of yourself, Kaya." He walked towards the entrance of the cave they were in and she watched him with a small frown. Sighing in frustration, she grabbed her satchel and ran after him.

"Grovyle!" He stopped and looked over at her. "If you're planning on fixing this mess of a future, then let me help you!"

"Really?" She nodded.

"I believe my ability to locate the time gears can be invaluable to you."

"But are you certain it will work in tracking all of them?"

"It's worth a try! I know this ability has worked for me twice before, but I only remember the time I told you about. My parents told me it happened when I was really young and they called it the Dimensional Scream."

"Kaya, you do know that if we work to reverse the collapse of Temporal Tower, we will cease to exist in this world anymore." She nodded.

"I'm aware of that fact. This future will no longer exist, and neither will the residents of it. But this world is hardly worth living in, and I'd be happy knowing I could do something to spare others of this fate." Grovyle smiled a little.

"Then we share the same feelings."

"So what do you say, Grovyle? Partners?" She held out her hand and he placed his on top of hers.

"Partners."

* * *

**And so ends the first chapter! I hope you all like it.**

**I love anyone who takes the time to write constructive criticism, I absolutely despise anyone who pointlessly bashes like a mindless buffoon.**

**Just a bit of advice guys; if you don't like something and yet you sit here and pointlessly ramble about not liking it without explaining why, it really just makes you look like an ass.**

**Ok, I shall step down from my soap box and apologize for the rant. See you guys next chapter!**


	2. The Journey Begins

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the premise of "Explorers of Time." I merely own the specifications of my OC and the particular plot of this fanfic.**

**Chapter Two: The Journey Begins**

* * *

"Are you sure this is it?"

"I'm positive. The fog is unmistakable. This is definitely Fogbound Forest."

"And this is where you saw a vision of a time gear?"

"Yes. Inside the forest should be a statue of Groudon. If we can find it, maybe I can trigger the vision again so I can be sure it was as I remember it from all those years ago."

"Alright, then let's go." The two ventured into the misty forest, the trees and fog motionless which made the air feel uncomfortably thick and heavy as they pushed through the suspended fog. "Is this still a mystery dungeon?" Grovyle asked.

"I don't know, I haven't been here for years. Just keep going, we'll find our way through eventually." Grovyle frowned but didn't argue with her as she continued through the trees.

It took some time, but they finally escaped the forest and looked around to see waterfalls around them, frozen in the fog.

"There it is!" Kaya said, running towards a partially buried statue of Groudon. She ran up to it and ran her hands along it as Grovyle followed her.

"Well? Do you see anything?"

"Just give me a minute…" she said. Her hand rested on the head of the statue and she closed her eyes for a moment. She suddenly fell to her knees, placing a hand on her head as she swayed dizzily.

"Kaya?!"

"I…I see it…place the drought stone in Groudon's heart…that will lift the fog."

"The drought stone?"

"It's a large, red stone…it almost looks like a giant ruby."

"Where can we find such a stone?"

"I do not know…it should not be too far from the statue, but I did not see its location. I only saw the fog lifts and reveals a place called Fogbound Lake where a time gear is hidden."

"So…place the drought stone in Groudon's heart to lift the fog. Very well." Kaya sighed, rubbing her head a bit. "That ability of yours is impressive."

"Thank you…but the problem is it's limited to only areas connected directly to time gears. So unless you have some idea where the remaining four are, this is going to be exceedingly difficult." Grovyle rested a hand on his chin and looked thoughtful.

"Well…I've been researching time gears all my life, and I do know that three of them were guarded by three pokemon; Uxie, Azelf, and Mespirit. And these three pokemon lived by hidden lakes."

"Ok. Well, we found the first lake," Kaya said. "But do you know where the other lakes are?"

"I don't know any locations for certain…but I know a pokemon who may have an idea."

"Who?"

"Come on; let's get to the Dusk Forest." Kay furrowed her brows but nodded and followed Grovyle back through Fogbound Forest.

-0-

"So…what pokemon are we seeing, exactly?" Kaya asked after a few hours of hiking through the mystery dungeon together. Grovyle stopped and looked around cautiously.

"I suppose we're deep enough to be free of curious ears." They sat down in a patch of frozen clover and ate some apples to fill their grumbling bellies. "We're going to see Celebi."

"Celebi?" Grovyle nodded.

"Yes. I met her years ago when I was exploring this forest and she revealed to me she knew a way to reverse the planet's paralysis, but was unable to do it on her own. She is the one who told me about the time gears and the collapse of temporal tower. You see, Dialga is not the only pokemon with power over time."

"So Celebi has control over time?"

"Well, not exactly. But she does have some powers and can make short trips through time on her own. She also has power to use the passage of time in the deepest parts of this forest. Though Primal Dialga has power of all of time, Celebi has been able to evade him and guards the passage of time from him and his minions."

"Impressive. But why hasn't she tried to go back and replace the time gears?"

"Celebi is a strong pokemon, but she is exceptionally wary of battle. If she were to use the passage of time alone, Dialga and Dusknoir would destroy her. And, right now, if the only other pokemon with any power over time were destroyed, the world would be forever doomed. But I have no special abilities that are necessary to this world. Even if I fail, there is always hope that another may step up and finish what Celebi and I started."

"That sounds terribly sad, though. You can't make yourself sound so disposable, Grovyle."

"I am, Kaya. I really am disposable in this world, because this world should not even exist." She frowned a little.

"That may be true…but that doesn't mean its ok for you to simply be obliterated. Celebi plays a crucial role in this plan of yours, but so do you. How many other pokemon have your drive? Most are either dark and vicious or terrified and cowardly. The chance of finding another pokemon who is willing to go against Dusknoir and Dialga is slim to none."

"Well…hopefully we'll be able to succeed and not have to worry about getting any other pokemon involved. The fewer involved in this, the better." Grovyle stood up and began moving again. "Come on; let's not waste any more time."

"Alright," Kaya sighed, standing up and following him. They continued through the forest and eventually came to a large clearing at the base of some rocky cliffs and Grovyle looked around.

"Celebi, are you here?" he called out and Kaya's silver eyes scanned the still, empty clearing. There was no sign of life anywhere in the area and she frowned slightly. "That's strange…I wonder where she could be hiding…" Grovyle mumbled, moving forward and looking around.

A golden light suddenly appeared a few feet in front of him and a bubbly, feminine voice suddenly emanated from the light.

"Oh, my dear Grovyle, it's been a while," the voice chirped and the light grew and a small, pink pokemon floated a few feet away from Grovyle. She had large, green eyes, a pair of antennas and tiny, gossamer wings on her back. "And you've brought someone with you?"

"Yes, Celebi. This is Kaya. She has agreed to help us try to find the time gears." Celebi clapped her small hands together, beaming.

"Wonderful!" She flew over to Kaya and looked her up and down. "So you're Kaya. I'm Celebi!"

"Nice to meet you, Celebi," Kaya said slowly with a small smile. "I certainly wasn't expecting such a…cute pokemon." Celebi giggled and blushed a bit.

"Well, I certainly have charming petite features, don't I? But don't think that makes me a pushover!"

"So, Celebi, we've been able to pinpoint the location of one of the time gears at Fogbound Lake."

"Really? How did you manage to do that?" Celebi gasped, her eyes widening excitedly.

"Kaya has a special gift that allows her to learn the locations of time gears." Celebi gasped in wonder and turned to look at Kaya.

"It's called the Dimensional Scream. Every time I touch something related to a time gear, I get a vision about the time gear and how to get to it. But because I can only use this when I touch something related to a time gear, I need to have a basic idea where the gears may be located."

"Well, I know for a fact that three time gears are hidden in lakes that are placed in particularly strange locations, and these three particular time gears are guarded by the three ancient pokemon of knowledge.; Mespirit, Azelf, and Uxie. I do not know where the lakes actually are, but I know small clues that were passed down to me from other pokemon. The first lake is hidden in a shroud. I'm guessing that's Fogbound Lake."

"Right," Kaya said with a nod.

"The second lake should be hidden near shifting earth. And the third lake should be somewhere of exquisite beauty."

"Those are rather vague…" Kaya said, pursing her lips. "I was hoping for something more specific."

"The time gears had to be hidden safely to nobody would tamper with them. It would be moronic to simply spout their locations willy nilly," Celebi scoffed.

"You're right, Celebi. Still, I wish we had a bit more information…and those are only two more time gears. We have a total of four more to find, right Grovyle?" He nodded.

"Yes. Temporal Tower needs five team gears in order to reverse the destruction of time."

"Well, those are the three that are guarded by the three beings of knowledge. The remaining two time gears are hidden, but not guarded by ancient pokemon. If I'm right…one time gear is hidden in some sort of cavern, while the other is hidden in a forest. However, caverns and forests are fairly common, so I'm not certain if that's helpful."

"The time gears are hidden in mystery dungeons I'm assuming, so that's a start," Kaya said and Grovyle nodded.

"We'll have to get a map from a few decades ago so we can have a better idea of what the areas in this region looked like before the paralysis. Some places hardly resemble the forests and fields anymore…" Grovyle murmured bitterly.

"Well then, let's try to find the two guarded by the ancient pokemon. Perhaps we can find a clue to the other time gears while we're there." Grovyle nodded.

"Right. We can go to the old markets near the sea and look for a map. It'll be a long journey, but well worth it."

"I did not realize there were old markets by the sea."

"Yes. It is hidden underground near a place once called Treasure Town. A few outlaw pokemon hide there from Dialga and his minions and barter goods they happen upon. Sometimes you can find just what you need there."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Celebi, are you coming with us?"

"I wish I could, but I must continue guarding the Passage of Time. Though I hope you both will come and see me again soon!" she chirped, smiling at them.

"Thank you, Celebi. Come on, Kaya." Kaya nodded and followed Grovyle back through the forest and journeyed with him to the east toward the sea. They camped out in caverns until they arrived to a barren village and climbed up to the top of a large hill where a fallen structure hid a ladder that lead to a small gathering of pokemon.

"Wow…I never would have guessed this would be here."

"Come on. Let's see if we can find someone with a map." Kaya followed Grovyle through the stands and they found a Noctowl selling various tomes. "This looks promising…excuse me, but would you happen to have map of this world? Preferably one from before the…incident."

"Mmm…perhaps. But what would you be willing to give me in return for such an item?"

"Name your price."

"Very well, I require an energy root."

"What?! Why not some oran berries?"

"I've tried them and they haven't worked. My friend, Fearow, requires an energy root. If you want that map, you must bring me an energy root. Otherwise, no deal." Grovyle growled and stepped back, leering to the side.

"I doubt we'll be able to find an energy root! We'll have to find someone else with a map."

"Now hold on, Grovyle, I'm sure there are energy roots hidden in some of the forests."

"By now they've all been mined, I'm sure. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we don't have the time to dig around so many forests anyway. It'd be faster to find someone else with a map."

"Come on, Grovyle, let's just try one place. And if we don't find it, we'll look somewhere else."

"Kaya…"

"Just trust me." He sighed but found himself following her out of the market and out to the dark forests surrounding the ruined town.

* * *

**Hooray, finally posted a new chapter. Please make sure you don't flame, but I do appreciate constructive criticism.**


	3. Searching for the Light

**Thank you for the feedback, I've been playing the game again so I'm inspired to write a new chapter. **

**By the way, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the premise of "Explorers of Time." I merely own the specifications of my OC and the particular plot of this fanfic.**

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**Chapter Three: Searching for the Light**

"Kaya, where exactly are we going?" Grovyle asked. They continued through the pathway into the forest's winding, maze-like mystery dungeon and avoided as many pokemon as humanly possible by throwing stun seeds at anything that moved toward them.

"Hold on, we should be there soon." Grovyle struck a Steelix with his leaf blade and followed after her. They climbed up the stairways and moved through the numerous levels of the dungeon, finding some berries and even a few TMs lying around. "Alright, I think the dungeon ends on this next floor."

They climbed up the stairway and exited into a large clearing and Kaya looked around.

"Yes, this is it."

"Where exactly are we?"

"Well, I don't know the name of this forest, but I remember hunting for various roots and herbs here before. It's pretty out of the way, so there should be at least something left. Who knows? Maybe we'll even find the root we need." Grovyle sighed a bit and looked around the clearing.

"It seems pretty barren…"

"Of course, we're still on the path. The trick is to look near the trees where less pokemon tend to wander. Come on." She walked into the thick grass growing on the side of the path between the trees and knelt down, groping the hard soil for roots and mushrooms.

Grovyle awkwardly approached her and knelt down as well, mimicking her movements and touching the ground. He felt some small pebbles and weeds, but nothing of use and she continued to search the area, a look of determination on her face.

"Alright, this area isn't looking very promising. Let's try the clearing up ahead," she said, dusting off her clothes and moving out of the grass to the forest path again.

"Do you really think we'll find an energy root around here?" Grovyle asked skeptically.

"Aw, come on, Grovyle, don't you trust me?" she asked, gesturing to herself.

"Well, I do…but I'm just wondering if you were really sure we could find it."

"If I didn't think we could find an energy root here, I wouldn't have brought you here. Now come on, let's go look in this clearing up ahead. If we can't find anything, we can go back and think of a new plan."

"Alright, fair enough." They moved farther into the clearing and approached a grassy alcove surrounded by trees and Kaya crawled on the ground, feeling for roots or weak soil that she could dig.

"Have you found anything?" she called to Grovyle.

"Just a tinymushroom. Not much help."

"No…well, just keep looking." She continued feeling the rough, grey grass and she stopped as her head began to pound and she felt a familiar wave of dizziness. "W-what?" Her hand immediately flew to her temple and she blinked rapidly, attempting to focus.

"Kaya?"

"I-I'm getting…" Grovyle moved to her side instantly and she shut her eyes, grabbing the sides of her head. "It's here…there's a time gear here."

"What?!"

"Right in this spot, there is a time gear. I can see it." The dizziness subsided and she let out a short sigh of relief and looked over at Grovyle. "This must be the forest Celebi was telling us about. I could see the time gear, but nothing guarding it."

"Incredible…"

"This is a stroke of luck. I just don't know what this forest was called."

"I'm certain we can find out. You knew the way here, surely we can mark it on a map."

"You're probably right. But we'd better find that root before we get too excited."

"Yes, let's keep looking. But do you want to rest a bit?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Grovyle looked slightly unconvinced but nodded and moved forward, searching for the short, purplish root in the grass. He began using dig in a few spots where he found a number of herbs and Kaya dug at the ground with a rock.

"Kaya!" Grovyle called, climbing back up to the surface with a root in his hand. "I found one!"

"Perfect! Now we can barter for the map." She placed the root in her bag, beaming, and they were able to use an escape orb to get out of the forest and took the old road back to the markets. Without the sun, the passage of time is exceedingly hard to determine, but the journey took about half a day.

They climbed down the ladder and pushed through the pokemon to the Noctowl's stand.

"Still looking for an energy root?" Grovyle asked and Noctowl nodded a bit.

"That I am. Have you come across one?"

"It wasn't an easy task, my friend." He took the root from Kaya and held it out to Noctowl and his feathers ruffled a bit and he took the root in his wing.

"Thank you! I'll bring it to my friend at once."

"Ah, but let's not forget the map."

"Of course not. Give me moment." Noctowl began digging through a bin of scrolls and parchment for a few minutes and pulled out two scrolls and set them before Grovyle. "This one here is a wonder map that's been filled out by an old exploration team. It should serve you well. This scroll here is a blank map you can use to help charter the world as it is now. Few souls are brave enough to venture away from their homes, so there isn't much written on it yet. But, perhaps, it could help you."

"We greatly appreciate your help."

"It is I who should thank you. Perhaps we will meet again."

"Perhaps." Noctowl closed up his shop quickly and flew away with the root and Grovyle smiled slightly.

"Hoping for his friend's recovery?" Kaya asked and he nodded a bit.

"Yes."

"You know, for a pokemon on your kind of mission, you're surprisingly benevolent towards other pokemon here." He flushed slightly and shrugged uncomfortably.

"It's not like I'm so bitter I've become heartless…" he mumbled.

"I don't know, I guess I pictured you as an emotionless anti-hero who single-mindedly attempts to achieve his goal."

"I guess you pictured me wrong, then," he said with a short shrug. "Anyway, we need to get out of here. We don't want to gather too much attention."

"Yeah, you're right." She followed him out of the market and they climbed up the ladder and decided to go and hide in a cavern near the beach to observe the map. Grovyle started up a fire and Kaya gathered some apples for them to ear and they unrolled the Wonder Map. "Oh wow! I know he said they filled out the map, but I didn't expect so many different areas."

"These spots are all mystery dungeons," Grovyle said, pointing to the yellow tacks.

"And we should be right here," Kaya said, pointing to the yellow spot that read "Beach Cave."

"Now, the question is where was the forest you had the Dimensional Scream kick in?" Grovyle asked and Kaya pursed her lips.

"Well, it wasn't close by, so I'd say any one of these spots." She pointed to three dots and Grovyle looked over this.

"This one is Fogbound Forest, we know a time gear is there. What about this one?"

"It's called 'Treeshroud Forest.'"

"Do you think that's the forest we were in?"

"It's possible, but there's really no way to know for sure unless we go there again."

"Very well, we can travel there again tomorrow. But let's try and narrow down a few other areas to explore."

"Alright. Well, I think it's safe to say that there isn't a time gear in any of these places," she said, tapping her finger against the beach cave and craggy coast. Celebi said that the two time gears hidden in the lakes were in a place of shifting earth, and the other in a place of exquisite beauty."

"Well…shifting earth might actually be the easiest one."

"So…perhaps in the mountains?"

"That's certainly a possibility. How many mountainous areas are on this map that aren't already near the other time gear?" Grovyle asked.

"Let's see…there's Mt. Horn, but that's close to Fogbound Forest, so I doubt there will be a time gear there."

"There's Mt. Bristle and Mr. Travail."

"What about this island? Mt. Mistral?"

"I really hope there isn't a time gear there. How are we supposed to cross the ocean?"

"Good point…"

"So why don't we visit Mr. Bristle and Mt. Travail before going to see if that forest is Treeshroud Forest?"

"Yes, that sounds like a smart plan. We'd best gather some supplies before leaving on this journey."

"Agreed." They rolled up their map and put it away in Kaya's bag before getting up to go to the market in hopes of finding some useful equipment for travelling. They were able to get their hands on a couple of Reviver seeds, some Oran berries; a few heal seeds, and even some orbs.

"I think we should be alright for the journey."

"Which mountain is closer?"

"It looks like Mr. Bristle would be about…here," Kaya said, pointing to a spot on the other map.

"Alright, it shouldn't take us more than a few hours to get there."

"Right. We'd better get going." He nodded and they began walking down the road toward the mountain, taking care to stay as hidden as possible in case Sableye happened to be patrolling the area.

Any pokemon they happened to see along the way dove back into their hiding places and watched them fearfully. They continued on, trying to avoid capturing too much attention and they finally found the mountain. The boulders were suspended in the air and there were old signs that were broken and hung in space, the writing long destroyed and impossible to make out any more.

"Not exactly welcoming…" Kaya sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Let's get to it."

"Yes." They entered the mystery dungeon and began wandering the large rooms, avoiding the rocks that lay around the room. Various Lileep, Ghastly, and Graveler wandered the rooms and occasionally attacked them. Grovyle stayed in front of Kaya and protected her from the pokemon while she scouted out the staircase.

The mountain had only about 8 rooms before they found themselves at the peak. It was a large, crater-like area, surrounded by sharp pillars of rock that were partially crumbled with pebbles lying around the ground.

"There certainly doesn't appear to be much here." Kaya walked around and touched a few of the rocks, waiting to see if anything triggered a Dimensional Scream.

"Are you getting anything at all?" Grovyle asked and she shook her head.

"No, I'm afraid not."

"That's too bad."

"May as well cross Mt. Bristle off." Grovyle opened the map and made a small mark next to Mt. Bristle.

"Well, it looks like Treeshroud Forest is closer than Mr. Travail, so shall we try there next?"

"Sure."

"Whe-he-he-he." They both perked up at the familiar laugh.

"Sableye?!"

"Did they see us climb up here?" Kaya asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better get out of here before they can corner us. Come on, follow me." They ran through a path that cut back into the mystery dungeon and used the escape orb to flee.

"There they are!" They both jumped as a group of three Sableye ran toward them, claws bared.

"Run!" They took off down the road, not really caring which direction they were running and the Sableye chased after them, laughing wickedly.

"Don't let them escape!"

They leapt down from some small, rocky ledges and moved off the path toward a small forest near the mountains when three more Sableye leapt in front of them and circled the two.

"We're surrounded!"

"Urgh, it can't be helped. Looks like we'll have to fight back," Grovyle said, taking a step forward. The Sableye cackled and moved in towards them. Kaya threw a stun seed at the closest one and it became petrified as Grovyle used leaf blade on another, knocking it out.

The Sableye to Grovyle's left used night shade, the one to his right used fury swipes and dealt a good amount of damage. The Sableye to Kaya's right used growl, and the Sableye to her left tackled her.

She pulled out a small sling-shot she'd made and flung a series of sharp thorns at the Sableye, effectively knocking one out while Grovyle used leaf blade.

Before long, they managed to defeat the six Sableye and they took off running. Kaya sighed in relief and pulled out a couple of Oran berries.

"We really lucked out…" she said.

"Heh, guess it shouldn't surprise me that they're still hunting us down." They each eat the berries and regained some HP before opening the map. "Alright, we'd better get moving now. If we hurry, we might reach the forest before all of the ghost pokemon become more active."

"Mm-hmm." They began walking down the path and Kaya locked her handed behind her head. "Hey by the way, thank you for helping me out whenever we get attacked by wild pokemon. I know a human partner isn't the most ideal in these mystery dungeons…"

"You don't need to thank me. Despite not being a pokemon yourself, you hold your own just fine." She smiled sheepishly.

"I guess it pays off to collect iron thorns and geopebbles whenever I can."

"Besides, your Dimensional Scream ability is invaluable. If it weren't for you, I'd be wandering around aimlessly, trying to find information that is all but lost."

"I wonder if we can really do it…change the world."

"There's no sense wondering. All we can do now is keep trying until we succeed or until we are destroyed."

"I'd prefer the former."

"As would I." They continued walking along the road in relative silence, both pondering what it would be like to know that this future wouldn't have to exist. Time would flow normally, Dialga would not revert to his Primal state, and there would be light and color in the world again.

"I wish we could see a sunrise," Kaya finally said.

"What?"

"A sunrise. I've read about them. It's something I'd like to see if we go back and collect the time gears."

"I'm sure we'll get to see it. We'll get to see what the world was like before this mess began." She nodded.

"That'll make this all worthwhile, I think."

"Really?" She nodded again.

"If we can see what this world lacks, what it really means to live in a world of light, then I can cease to exist without any remorse. I'll be happy to know we spared so many pokemon and people from suffering this fate." Grovyle gave a small smile and nodded.

"It's too bad there aren't more who feel the same way."

"Yeah…but it isn't surprising. The idea of never existing is frightening. But all things come to an end anyway."

"Very true." They continued on toward the forest and finally passed through the large field in front of the forest and Kaya beamed.

"Yes! This is the same forest."

"Well that saves us a bit of trouble," Grovyle said, unrolling the map and marking Treeshroud Forest. "Two time gears down, three to go."

"Should we camp out for the next few hours?" Kaya asked.

"I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea." They scouted out a cavern and started up a fire to eat supper around.

"Do you suppose Celebi is ok?" Kaya asked.

"I would be surprised if she wasn't. She's quite elusive. I know for a fact Dusknoir has been hunting her for a while, but she always escapes them."

"That's really good to know. I'd hate to see her captured; she seems like such a nice Pokemon." Grovyle nodded and continued eating his dinner. The heard a soft noise from the pit of the cavern and Grovyle leapt up, leaf blade at the ready, when a couple of baby Skarmory peered out, making soft noises.

Grovyle lowered his arm and Kaya walked over to the baby pokemon cautiously.

"They look like they haven't eaten for a while. I wonder where their mother went."

"No telling…" Grovyle said. Kaya picked up her remaining dinner and offered it to the babies and they slowly began eating the berries. Grovyle watched the two pokemon eat up the food hungrily and sighed a bit before offering them what remained of his supper as well.

"What should we do about these two?"

"Nothing much we can do. They're too young to go with us, and their mother may return soon so we can't take them away from the cave."

"Yes, you're right. I still feel bad…"

"Try not to. Come on, we ought to get some sleep." They began making beds out of straw and Grovyle went to lay down and was shocked when he felt something snuggled up to him and looked to see one of the little Skarmory beginning to fall asleep.

Kaya merely gave him a small smile as the other curled up next to her and mouthed "good night" before closing her eyes. Grovyle sighed but rolled onto his side and, as their fire began to die out, he began to fall asleep.

* * *

**Hooray, new chapter! Only three more time gears to go! Will they find them?**

**And, before I am asked, no, the baby Skarmory aren't gonna be a serious plot point. Just a cute little moment to include. I thought a baby Skarmory would be adorable to see cuddling up to Grovyle. **

**Reviews are nice, flames are not needed.**


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